Footprints
by buhluesky
Summary: When Kurt finally escaped Lima for NYC, he never thought he'd run into someone from back home. He also never thought it would be a certain smirky meerkat, or that the Meerkat would change his life infinitely for the better..
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is kind of short, but the chapters will be getting a lot longer as the story opens up, I promise. :)  
**

New York was everything Kurt dreamed it would be. The city was gorgeous, there was more shopping than he could ever imagine, his stepbrother and best friend were right around the corner, and he had a full scholarship to NYADA. It was perfect. Or, it should have been. It was ridiculous, but...Kurt was_ bored_. He got up at 8 o'clock every morning, went through the same routine to get ready, and then either went to school or met Finn and Rachel for breakfast. He spent the day in class or running errands, and then he would come home to his little apartment over a bar. Nights at the bar he now called home were the only thing that kept Kurt from keeling over due to boredom.

The little bar was called Lipservice. As a broke college kid, instead of paying rent, Kurt had worked out a deal with the owner where he performed a few nights a week and stayed for free. People flooded in to the small bar to hear the countertenor sing, and Kurt never lost the little thrill he had always gotten from performing.

One typical Thursday night, he stumbled wearily into Lipservice and all but collapsed onto a stool at the bar. Nicki, the beautiful redheaded bartender that worked nights, grinned at him. "Tough day?" She snickered in her low, cigarette-raspy voice. Kurt moaned pitifully, putting his head down on the bar.

"Someday, I'll find the person who decided we should have a double period of dance, musical comp, and a two hour lecture on "putting your feelings into the music" in the same day. And I will murder them." He picked his head up and scowled. "Then, the icing on the cake; Rachel called to whine over how her professor doesn't '_appreciate her theatrical talents_'." Nicki smirked at him.

"Poor baby," She crooned. "It must be so hard to have a scholarship to the best music school in the country and be best friends with a future millionaire-slash-musical-icon." Kurt glared at her playfully, but Nicki just stuck her tongue out at him. "Go make yourself extra-pretty, you're on in fifteen minutes."

Kurt kissed her on the cheek and went into the small dressing room in the back of the club, specially reserved for him. Mickey, the owner, had told Kurt he was having an "old school mobster Roaring Twenties jazzy theme night thingy" tonight. Kurt snorted and shook his head at the man's refreshing immaturity as he put on a vintage pin-striped suit, coiffed his hair, and topped it off with a black fedora. One of the servers knocked on the door, singsong voice floating through the door; "Kurtsie, you're on, hun."

Kurt stayed frozen for a second, staring into the clear reflection of the mirror. He took a deep breath, then another, and closed his eyes. Kurt felt everything still, and the world seemed to quiet down. He lifted his head, smirked at his reflection, and strutted out on stage. A few people whistled in the audience as he stepped into the spotlight, fedora tipped over his face. Kurt just stood quietly for a moment, letting silence fill the room. He tipped his head back, piercing eyes sweeping over the audience. In a low, lazy voice, he began to sing:

_"My old man is, a bad man, but I can't deny the way he holds my hand..."_

The bar's patrons were spellbound in no time, full attention focused on Kurt as he made his voice low and flat and then high and sickly sweet to match the song. He followed with Amy Winehouse's "Rehab", winking at Nicki as he began so his friend would know the song was for her. She grinned and sang along from behind the bar to her favorite artist. Kurt had the entire place riveted for the better part of an hour, choosing to close the performance with "Le Jazz Hot", for old times' sake. As the last incredibly high note rang out, the bar erupted in applause and catcalls and Kurt flushed, beaming and sweeping his hat off to take a bow. As he rose, a man sitting at the bar caught his eye. He was gorgeous, and grinning, piercing green eyes crinkling at the edges as they met Kurt's. He put two long fingers to his mouth and wolf whistled before raising his glass to the countertenor. Meanwhile, Kurt tried not to gape too openly, struggling to keep his composure as he stared. There was only one thought running through his head.

What the hell was Sebastian Smythe doing in New York?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Your reviews are so, so sweet. This ones a bit longer, as promised.. :)**

Actually, if Kurt was being honest, two thoughts ran through his head when he saw Sebastian. What was he doing here, and _oh my Gaga, did he look good_. The boy was a little taller than when Kurt had last seen him, and his skin was a golden brown that one didn't usually acquire living in Ohio. Kurt stepped off stage and was instantly swept up in a cloud of people complimenting him on his great performance and shaking his hand. He was just beginning to get overwhelmed when a warm hand clasped around his arm and a smooth voice behind him said "I apologize, but I need to steal the star for a second." Kurt turned to find Sebastian wearing a familiar smirk and started to make a scathing remark towards the meerkat, before glancing over at the group of eager bar patrons and changing his mind, following Sebastian to a booth in the corner.

"I must admit, Princess, I'm impressed," Sebastian said as soon as they sat down. "No Lima Bean apron, no Hobbit boyfriend with over-gelled hair, and you've actually made it to New York." He said all of this in a somewhat condescending tone, but Kurt oddly didn't mind. After the whole Karofsky thing he and Sebastian had been a little more civil toward each other, but had continued to banter and trade insults, because sometimes it was nice to have someone around that was actually on your level.

Kurt pursed his lips at the mention of Blaine and then raised an eyebrow. "That means so much coming from you." He scoffed. "I imagine you've been having plenty of fun with the over-gelled Hobbit since I left?" The idea still bothered him, but not nearly as much as it used to. It wasn't even completely Blaine; the thing that bothered Kurt most was Sebastian winning, after all this time. But Sebastian just snorted at Kurt's statement.

"Hardly. A week after you two were over the teenage dream showed up at my dorm room asking if I _maybe wanted to go to Breadstix with him?_" Sebastian mimicked Blaine's voice, then gave a long suffering sigh. "Without the chase, it wasn't any fun. He's so clingy. Like a fucking puppy or something. I don't even know how you dealt with that, Gayface." Sebastian gave a mock shiver.

"It's because I'm magical, Meerkat." Kurt deadpanned. Sebastian opened his mouth to insult Kurt again, so he quickly added, "What are you doing in New York, anyway?" Sebastian apparently saw through Kurt's avoidance tactics gave a light, rich laugh that sent a shiver down Kurt's spine. He shifted uncomfortably but Sebastian didn't seem to notice, finishing off his drink and letting a smirk draw back over his features.

"It's kind of a long story." He said simply. Kurt merely pursed his lips again.

"I'd love to hear it."

Sebastian looked away for a second, before looking back at Kurt and giving a little nod, almost to himself. "I decided to take a year off to do the things I've always wanted to, before I have to grow up and shit like that. It led me to New York."

Kurt smirked because that was so very Sebastian, but then he wondered what the other boy meant by "the things he's always wanted to do". The question apparently showed on his face because Sebastian smirked again.

"Wondering exactly what I'm up to, Gayface?"

"I was under the impression you always did what, or who, you wanted, Craigslist, and that's why you're so disgusting," Kurt said disdainfully, pretending to look at Sebastian like he was something revolting and curling his lip. "But if I had to guess, I'd say what you're 'up to' is seducing innocent men and kicking puppies. All your usual nefarious hobbies." Sebastian threw back his disgustingly beautiful head and laughed at that, grinning at Kurt in a way he'd almost missed. _Almost_, Kurt snorted mentally. He's still a stupid smirky meerkat.

"No, Hummel, for once what I'm doing is perfectly innocent. Well, mostly anyway. I promise." Sebastian winked at Kurt and dug a piece of paper out of his tight, dark jeans. Kurt willed himself not to look at the other boys jeans and all the tan muscles those jeans might be covering, and was thankfully distracted when Sebastian threw the piece of paper in his face. Kurt unfolded it carefully.

It stated at the top: _**My Sexy Bucket List**_

_**1. Get a hot piercing**_

_**2. Sing for a crowd again**_

_**3. Climb a bigass mountain**_

_**4. Fuck the most beautiful man in the world**_

_**5. Skydive**_

_**6. Make the newspapers**_

_**7. Have a chase like in fuckin movies**_

Kurt laughed despite himself and handed the list back to Sebastian, tapping his finger on number 4. "Innocent, huh?"

Sebastian pouted. "I said mostly." Then he grinned. "But it's a pretty great list, right?"

"Yeah," Kurt sighed, suddenly remembering the routine college life he had to get back to in the morning. "Sounds exciting. I'm almost jealous." He looked out over the bar wistfully.

Sebastian looked at Kurt, trying to hold back a laugh. He had always thought it was amusing how Hummel's emotions played out over his face. You could know exactly what he was thinking just by looking at him. Sebastian paused for a second, absently licking his lips and considering the other boy. "You know Kurt," The pale boy's head snapped towards Sebastian in surprise at hearing his real name. "You could help me with it. It'd be a win-win; me getting this done on time, and you being graced with my presence and disrupting the monotony of your little college life."

Kurt faked a gasp. "You just said disrupting and monotony in the same sentence. Better watch it Smythe, or people are gonna think you're a real human being. Like, with a brain."

Sebastian glared at Kurt, crossing his arms and huffing, pretending to be offended. "Are you gonna do this shit with me or not, Hummel?" Kurt was about to tell Smythe he'd sooner go straight than help him out with something, but then he really looked at Sebastian. The ex-Warblers eyes were oddly serious, not looking directly at Kurt, and he was tapping his fingers on the table. He looked oddly vulnerable, and it struck Kurt that for some reason Smythe really wanted him to do this. So he tilted his head to one side and hummed like he was thinking hard before reluctantly agreeing. The second he did Sebastian smirked once again and jumped out of the booth they'd been sitting in.

"I knew you couldn't resist me, Ladyface," He sneered, and held his hand out to Kurt, who hesitated, but grasped the offered hand anyway. Instead of shaking it, the green-eyed boy brought it to his lips and put an open mouthed kiss on Kurt's knuckles. Kurt instantly felt himself flush, gaping, and Sebastian laughed and winked at him once more before turning and disappearing through the bar.

Kurt blinked at the space where Sebastian had been for a few seconds, stunned, and then looked at the clock. He groaned, realizing he had class tomorrow and it was 2 a.m.. Laying in bed though, Kurt found he couldn't fall asleep. He could only stare up at the ceiling, feeling the meerkat's lips on the back of his hand and wondering what the hell he had just agreed to.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, warning: This chapter is rated for Santana and Sebastian. Please don't shank me for the things they say. Don't forget, reviews are love, people:)**

The next day Kurt wakes up, follows his usual morning routine and walks to school. As he dodges around people, Kurt finds himself thinking only of last night. _That sounded dirty_, Kurt thinks immediately after, and feels sick because he could almost see the Meerkat smirking at that inside his head.

Kurt tries not to think of said smirky meerkat for the rest of the day, mostly succeeding as he's swept away in NYADA's insane schedule and curriculum. Sebastian doesn't show up at Lipservice that night and Kurt breathes a sigh of what he tells himself is relief. Kurt performs, then dances late into the night, feeling the stress from another long week melt off his back. He falls into bed sometime around 3 a.m. and the next thing he knows it is so, so bright, and a phone is ringing loud, loud, loud in his ear.

"Merfff," Kurt says eloquently, pressing the phone to his ear.

Theres a snicker from the other end of the phone followed by a bright, amused "Mornin', Princess."

Kurt scowls. "Smythe, how the hell did you get my number? And why are you calling me?"

"Because I missed you, of course!" Is the overly cheery reply.

"'Kay, I don't know who this is but if you don't put the real Sebastian Smythe on in the next ten seconds I'm calling the cops." Kurt mumbles, sitting up and yawning.

"Nice to know you care, Princess. Now put on your make-up and go to Bangles on Holiday Avenue. You're having coffee with me."

When Kurt opens his mouth to tell Sebastian just where he can put his coffee, and that there is no way in hell he's getting up, theres a harsh click in his ear. Kurt stares at his phone and mumbles disbelievingly, "He just hung up on me." Then he groans and rolls out of bed, cursing Sebastian Smythe all the way.

Bangles is a weird name for a coffee shop, but the place is nice, and Kurt basks in the warm glow the shop emits as he sits down across from Sebastian. The meerkat half-smirks at Kurt, holding out a coffee cup like a peace offering.

"I still don't forgive you for waking me up." Kurt says blankly, before taking a sip. He nearly purrs as the coffee spreads warmth down his throat and throughout his body, all the way down to his toes.

Sebastian just gives him a nasty grin. "Sorry."

Kurt glares half-heartedly, the coffee making him too happy to be truly mad. Before he can retort, Sebastian's expression changes to slight shock, then horror, and Kurt hears "Hummel, Timon, fancy meeting you here," as Santana Lopez drops into the seat next to him.

"My favorite border-hopper!" Sebastian exclaims with fake glee. "Pop an implant in your latest knife fight? You're looking a little lopsided." Santana half sneers at him and then turns to Kurt.

"Since all the losers are coming into town tonight we're having the Rachel Berry House Party Train wreck Extravaganza 2.0 and you're coming." Santana's dark eyes light up then and her lip curls. "You know...The ex-Gargler should come too."

Kurt's mouth drops open in horror, and he tries to protest, but Sebastian is already agreeing with a snarky grin, asking the Latina if he should bring an air pump with him so she can blow up her 'popped balloon'.

"Sure, I mean all you Garglers carry them around to keep your sad little salami sticks pumped up anyway, right?" Is the reply, then Santana is blowing Kurt a kiss and strutting off.

Sebastian stares after her, eyes narrowed. "How did she even know we were here..?"

Kurt shrugs, sipping his coffee. "Its Santana. I don't question it anymore." The ex-Warbler looks even more curious at that, but visibly shakes it off, then grins.

"So I'm coming to one of your pathetic little parties. How disappointed am I going to be?"

Kurt chuckles darkly, staring Sebastian down over the brim of his coffee cup. "Ohhh, Craigslist. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

* * *

Kurt isn't sure how it happens, but he spends another two hours at Bangles with Sebastian. They constantly trade insults and Kurt frequently feels like banging his head against the wall, but its fun. As they're leaving the coffee shop, Sebastian suddenly steals the scarf from around Kurt's neck.

"I have a hostage," He says mock-seriously, green eyes glittering. "and if you ever want to see this scarf alive again you'll follow me." He turns and runs down the street and Kurt finds himself following without a second thought, shouting obscenities at the taller boy. Sebastian hails a cab and dives into the back seat. Kurt is a step behind him, jumping straight on top of the other boy. Sebastian goes limp with shock, eyes wide, and Kurt jerks the scarf out of his hands. Smirking in victory, he slides off of the Smythe and is moving back across the seat when he suddenly finds himself pinned against the faux leather. One warm, strong hand is pressing his shoulder into the seat while the other is tugging the scarf out of his hand. Kurt tries to squirm out from under him, but Sebastian's knee is digging into his hip; it's no use.

The scarf is sliding out of Kurt's grip, so thinking fast, he turns his head and bites the wrist next to his shoulder. Sebastian yelps, and jerks back, allowing Kurt to stuff the scarf inside his coat and scoot back against the door. He sticks his tongue out at Sebastian. Its childish, yes, but he's having too much fun at this point to care. He laughs loud when Sebastian pouts in response, rubbing his wrist, and pretends not to notice the other boy stare at him when he laughs.

Once he calms down, Kurt suddenly notices something..the cab was moving. "Where are we going?" He asks, slightly panicked, because _oh my gosh_, he just willingly got into a cab with Sebastian Smythe and didn't even realize Sebastian had told the driver their destination before he had jumped in.

"To have some fun, Princess," Sebastian says casually. He refuses to answer any questions after that, instead choosing to insult Kurt whenever he asks. After the third time, Kurt threatens to bite Sebastian again, laughing outright at the look of terror on the ex-Warbler's face. Sebastian pouting again only makes Kurt laugh harder, and then the Smythe does something unexpected. He pounces on Kurt and starts to tickle him, of all things. It just so happens that Kurt is incredibly ticklish, and is powerless to do anything as Sebastian's long fingers dig into his side. Before long he is laughing so hard he isn't making any sound and there are tears streaming down his face. When Sebastian finally stops, Kurt realizes that their faces are mere inches apart. Sebastian's eyes are even more striking up close; the perfect mixture of gold and green. He realizes he's staring into them around the same time he realizes Sebastian is staring straight back at him, and it's at that moment the taxi driver announces they've reached their destination. Sebastian climbs over Kurt to get out of the car and then offers the smaller boy a hand. Kurt takes it, flashing back to the other night and the kiss on his hand, as Sebastian lets go of him and presents their new location with a flourish.

"Uh..where are we?" Kurt says, confused, regarding the quaint brick building proclaiming the word _Juliano's_ warily.

"My favorite restaurant, Gayface. I'm starving." With that, Sebastian is strolling through the front door, Kurt following with a roll of his eyes. Inside, Juliano's is quiet, private, and beautifully decorated. Kurt wants to make a scathing remark about how the place doesn't suit him, but he has the strange feeling that this is Sebastian showing Kurt a bit of his soul, and oddly enough; the place _does_ suit him.

Suddenly a beaming waiter is in front of them, and Kurt actually jumps because _double-you-tee-eff, that guy was not there before_. Sebastian sends Kurt an amused glance as the waiter says, "Good afternoon Mr. Smythe, pleasure to see you, as always."

Sebastian grins at him amicably. "You as well, Lucas. Set a date for the wedding yet?"

Lucas beams even brighter. "Yes! You'll find out when you get your invitation of course, because _you are coming to my wedding._" He glares at Sebastian, who grimaces jokingly, holding up his hands in surrender. Kurt is stunned as he watches Sebastian behave like a somewhat normal human being. "Oh, and I had better be invited to your wedding when you finally find the one who has you whipped enough to propose." Sebastian's 100-watt smile dims, before he scoffs.

"Me, married? Never." Lucas gives a skeptical "mm-hhmm" before his eyes land on Kurt and he grins.

"Speaking of!" He says brightly, elbowing Sebastian playfully. Sebastian shoves Lucas away from him, but the waiter seems undeterred, dancing up to Kurt and holding out his hand. "Lucas Cucinotta, so _very_ pleased to meet you."

Kurt finds himself returning Lucas' bright smile. "Kurt Hummel. The pleasure is mine." Lucas looks impressed at that, giving Kurt's hand a firm shake and then turning to Sebastian, eyebrows raised.

"Where in the world did you find this one, Seb? He actually has manners." Lucas acts completely baffled, as if manners are a foreign concept to him.

"He found me when he was trying to steal and then screw my boyfriend," Kurt says helpfully, sending a fake smile Sebastian's way when the ex-Warbler gives him a betrayed look. Lucas only snorts, looking completely unsurprised, and grabs a couple of menus.

"C'mon, we've got your usual table."

Lucas leads them to a private corner booth with a window that overlooks the street, leaving them after taking their drink orders. Sebastian is rubbing his wrist again. "Damn, Hummel, that bite was something."

Kurt gives him a thin smile. "I hope you learned something from this, Meerkat. Hostage situations never end well for the hostage taker." Sebastian snorts a laugh, leaning back in the booth and placing his hands behind his head.

"I'd say it ended pretty well. It got you to go out to dinner with me, didn't it?" Kurt pouts at that, making Sebastian snort again. They drift into their normal banter from there, and pretend not to notice the look Lucas gives them when he comes back to take their order. Kurt orders angel hair pasta, and Sebastian orders chicken parmigiana. They end up getting into an intense debate over chocolate of all things ("Milk chocolate is a classic, and anyways, dark chocolate tastes like _shit_." "Craigslist, how could you even_ say_ that?") and it lasts throughout dinner. It isn't until they're leaving the restaurant that Kurt notices Sebastian hardly touched his food, and he frowns, but doesn't say anything. It isn't his place to bother the Meerkat about his eating habits.

Somehow, it is decided that they're stopping by Kurt's flat so he can change before they head over to the Finchel apartment for the party. In no time at all they're back at Lipservice ("You live over the bar? _What the actual fuck-_") and Kurt orders Sebastian to sit at the bar and_ don't touch anything_ while he changes. He decides on a long-sleeved off-the-shoulder black top, dark, skinny jeans, and black boots that lace up to his knees. Flouncing down the stairs and past the bar, Kurt smirks at the way Sebastian seems frozen in place, eyes glued to Kurt.

"C'mon, Craigslist," He calls over his shoulder. "Taxis waiting, and I'm not gonna be late for this disaster because of you." Sebastian strolls out after him, walking extra slow just to aggravate Kurt. He's also like, 90% sure Sebastian's staring at his ass, because the green-eyed man isn't trying to hide it and continues to openly stare once they're in the taxi.

"Are you done?" Kurt snaps, beginning to feel uncomfortable under the scrutiny.

"Depends, how much longer do I have before you slap me?" Sebastian drawls.

"You're not gonna like the answer." Kurt growls, and Sebastian just smiles, eyes glittering mischievously as he turns away and stares out the window instead. After a minute of tense silence they arrive at Rachel and Finn's apartment building. Kurt jumps out of the taxi, suddenly alight with excitement, because _holy Grilled Cheesus_, it's a New Directions party, and he has_ missed_ this.

Sebastian looks mildly apprehensive at Kurt's excitement. "Calm down Princess, its just a party."

Kurt cackles. "Oh, _no,_ Meerkat. Its the Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza, all over again."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter took forever to write! The Rachel Berry House Party was a good idea in theory but..so difficult to write. Oh, and this is in 3rd person omniscient on accident, so play along, please? Also, there is plenty of inappropriateness in this chapter, so if you don't like that...well, you should probably find a different ship than Kurtbastian. And I already have the next chapter written! I shall put it up soon.**

Kurt took the steps two at a time, aware of Sebastian following him, looking at Kurt like he was a slightly dangerous mental patient. Kurt also found that he didn't care, and all thoughts of Sebastian faded away as he hurried down the dirty hallway and threw open the door to Finn and Rachel's apartment, to an explosion of noise.

"KURTTTT!"

"KURTIE!"

"UNICORN!"

"PORCELAIN!"

"HUMMEL!"

Kurt found himself being tackled for the second time that day, and also for the second time, he found that he didn't mind at all. Kurt hugged each ex New Direction-er back and batted them away until only Brittany was left, arms still woven tight around his middle. He laughed. "Britt, you saw me last week." She just smiled up at him.

"Yeah, I know. I still missed you."

From a few feet away, Santana pouted. "Brits, you're only supposed to miss me."

"Yeah, but I love Kurtie too."

Santana seemed to just give up and grin at that. "THREESOME! Speaking of, Hummel, where's your Gargler?"

"_Ex_-Gargler, thanks." Sebastian spoke from the doorway. All of New Directions stared at him for a second, each apparently reliving the Micheal Jackson showdown. Sebastian lazily regarded them all, seeming unfazed, until Puck approached. The mohawked boy had an incredibly serious look on his face, a beer in one hand, and a knife in the other.

"Puck," Finn said slowly, in a low voice. "We really don't need to be breaking you out of jail again, man. 'Specially not for murder." Puck ignored him. He stared at Sebastian, who stared back evenly. The room seemed to be holding its breath as Puck held out both the knife and the 40-ounce to the green-eyed boy.

"Shotgun it." Puck ordered, and without batting an eye Sebastian made a hole near the bottom, popped the tab, and downed the 40 in an instant. Puck narrowed his eyes. "You play sports, Gargler?"

"Lacrosse, football, and baseball." Sebastian answered flatly.

"What's your favorite Katy Perry song?"

Sebastian shuddered. "After the Warblers, I would rather go fucking celibate than listen to Katy Perry ever again."

Puck nodded slowly, eyes narrowing further. Unexpectedly, he smirked, and clapped Sebastian on the shoulder. "Alright, he's cool. Crank the tunes, Berry, let's_ go_!" He hollered, and Finn and Rachel's giant stereo started blasting some R&B song. Sebastian raised an eyebrow, lips quirking at Puck's bipolar behavior as the mohawked boy threw an arm around Sebastian's shoulders and guided him towards the kitchen. "And the _booze!_" according to Puck.

Kurt watched the exchange quietly from his seat next to Mercedes, and the two grinned at each other as Puck and Sebastian disappeared. Then Kurt offered his hand to Mercedes formally, she accepted it, and they skipped to the make-shift dance floor in the living room. Everyone else joined them, eventually even Finn, Puck, Sam, and Sebastian, who had been apparently having "bro time". When a particularly slow song came on, they all abandoned dancing for drinking, and after that the party quickly went the same way as the first Rachel Berry House Party.

An hour after Kurt and Sebastian arrived, Rachel was already smashed on the fruity drinks she'd been concocting all night, and was hanging all over Finn (_"Finny, you lurve me, right? I mean, cause I like, love you almost as much as singing Wicked.."_) being "the needy drunk". Finn was plenty drunk himself this time around, and was patting his crazy fiancées back reassuringly while ignoring her in favor of talking to Mike. Quinn and Santana were hysterically screaming at each other over who had really been 'Head Bitch In Charge' at McKinley, while Tina and Mercedes watched, laughing their asses off. At the other end of the room, Lauren, Puck, Sam, Artie, and Sebastian were engaged in an intense game of flip cup, and Brittany and Kurt were dancing together in the middle of the room, twirling each other around and sharing a bottle of Absolut.

Sebastian was amazed at how well he was getting along with these people that he had fought with his entire senior year. After Puck's "careful analysis", the rest had accepted him without a second thought. Plus, they were actually good to party with. The booze was good, and the dancing was better. Sebastian had found himself distracted by a certain pair of hips all night..

Sam snapped his fingers in front of Sebastian's face, and he jumped. "Dude," Sam smirked and nodded towards Kurt. "You're staring again."

Sebastian cocked an eyebrow and half grinned at the friendly blonde. "Can you blame me?" Sam laughed, and Artie threw his hands and shouted, _"Get some!"_

"There's an idea," Puck boomed. "STRIP POKER, BITCHES, WHO'S IN?"

There were cheers and everyone was in except for Tina and Mike who were off to "uhm, do some stuff", Artie, who "had a booty call, y'all". Finn went to put Rachel to bed, promising he'd be back.

Many hands later, everyone had dropped out or lost interest except for Lauren, Sam, Kurt, Puck, Santana, and Sebastian. Everyone was missing a good few articles of clothing except for Lauren, and they all loudly cursed her for being so good at poker.

"Alright guys, last round," Sam announced, yawning. Sebastian smirked as he noticed Sam glancing over his shoulder at Mercedes, who was jumping on the couch with Brittany, both of them squealing like little kids. He cackled. The boy was so gone for her, he could already tell. When everyone threw down their cards a few moments later, Sebastian groaned. He had two pair, but Puck had a flush and Kurt a full house. The boys in question whooped and high-fived as Sam whipped off his wife beater in his 'ex Kentucky-stripper' fashion and Santana shimmied out of her skirt. They turned to Sebastian expectantly, and he rose to his feet, stretching.

He looked around at all of them, wearing his usual cocky smirk, before undoing the button on his pants and slowly sliding his jeans down over his hips and down to the floor. The entire time he kept his eyes fixed on Kurt, who's own glasz eyes were watching Sebastian's nimble fingers slide his pants off of his lithe frame. He blushed bright pink when he realized he'd been caught staring, and Sebastian laughed jovially.

Finn suddenly stumbled back into the room, squinting at Kurt. "Hey bro, didn't you say something about having to be back by four or you'll get locked out of your place?" Kurt blinked owlishly and looked at the time on his phone: 3:37.

"Shit," He squawked, tumbling out of his chair onto the floor, then getting shakily to his feet. "Thanks-Finn, I-have-to-go-guys, _love-you-bye!_" All of this came out in a jumbled mess as Kurt rushed to the door, shoving his boots on. He half-tripped again and almost stumbled, but a warm hand reached out and steadied him.

"Woah, tiger," Sebastian said, putting his own shoes on. Kurt distantly registered that the warm hand belongs to him. He also registers that Sebastian is talking again. "...walk you home, cause who knows what could happen to a pretty thing like you alone out there?" He gives Kurt a predatory smile that makes him shiver.

"Y-_you're_ gonna protect me?" He sputtered, because the thought is ridiculous.

Sebastian winked. "'Course, Princess. Your own knight in shining armor." He slung one arm around Kurt's shoulders and opened the door, guiding Kurt out into the dirty hallway, that was now waving and swirling like an illusion.

"Tooo-oo much to drink," Kurt mumbled, leaning into Sebastian.

"Mm," The other boy nodded in agreement, sliding his arm from around Kurt's shoulders to around his waist as they stumbled out of the building onto the street. "Mmmm..mm, mm, mm," Sebastian hummed to himself, making Kurt giggle. The ex-Warbler gave the pale boy a playful glare and continued his humming, turning it into a familiar tune.

_"Come on get higher, loosen my lips, faith and desire and the swing of your hips.."_ Sebastian sang softly in Kurt's ear, warm breath trailing down his neck and making the smaller boy shiver again. Sebastian made him shiver a lot, Kurt thought, as they slid into the backseat of a cab and Kurt turned to face Sebastian.

"Now where did you get that song from?" Kurt whispered. Even though no one is listening to them, both Kurt and Sebastian had been murmuring and whispering since they left the party. Everything between them just felt far too private for just anyone to hear.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, bleary eyes focusing in on Kurt. "From watching you, sweetheart." He chuckled as Kurt blushed the same pale pink, which looked bright and rosy in the light from the street.

"Oh yeah, that," Kurt said quietly, eyes downcast. He stared determinedly at the floor, willing himself to stop blushing. _This was Sebastian Smythe, for Gaga's sake. He tried to hit you with a rock salt slushie, steal your boyfriend, and blackmail your best friend with photoshopped pictures of your brother,_ one half of Kurt's brain told him. The other half immediately stated that he hadn't actually hit him with the slushie, he would've ended up doing Kurt a favor by taking Blaine off his hands, and the same Sebastian Smythe had just spent the night playing beer pong with Finn and harmonizing with Rachel.

Kurt had just decided he liked the second half of his brain's reasoning better when Sebastian put a hand on Kurt's chin and raised it to look him in the eye. Kurt cursed out loud as he felt the color rush back into his cheeks. Sebastian only scooted in closer, thumb stroking over Kurt's cheek. He revelled in the beautiful color of the countertenor's blush, and thought to himself that he wouldn't mind causing that more often. _Woah, bad thoughts, Sebastian...Ah, fuck it._

The cab stopped abruptly, making Sebastian tumble backwards against the door. He shoved a wad of bills at the driver and got out of the taxi. As he stood, somehow, Sebastian's long legs got tangled and he fell forward, laughing.

"Sebastian!" Kurt admonished, grabbing him and attempting to keep him upright. The green-eyed boy just smiled mischievously. Pretending to stumble again, he fell against Kurt and pressed him up against the brick front of Lipservice.

"Oops," Sebastian whispered hotly, centimeters from Kurt's face. To his surprise, the shorter boy just laughed brightly, echoing him with a "yeah, oops," before he leaned forward and kissed Sebastian. The ex-Warbler breathed in sharply as the smell of spicy cologne and coffee took over his senses. He pressed Kurt into the wall harder, sliding his hands around the hips he'd watched all night. He licked the countertenor's bottom lip, eliciting a small moan as the other boy put a hand around Sebastian's neck, fingertips digging into his hair, bringing him impossibly closer.

Sebastian gave in at first but eventually forced himself to back up an inch or so, panting and looking down at Kurt. He pressed his lips against the shell of the pale boy's ear and sang, _"I taste the sparks on your tongue, and I see angels, and devils, and God.."_ before softly biting his ear lobe.

Kurt shuddered violently, and Sebastian smirked, stepping back and whispering, "Bye, Princess." Before turning and disappearing down the street. Kurt stared in the direction he'd gone. His heart was pounding in his ears, and he couldn't smell or taste anything but tequila and some warm cinnamon scent that was pure Sebastian. He ran his fingers through his hair, not caring in the least that he was messing it up, and the only thing he could think was _'I'm in trouble.'_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm gonna be rushing through a few bits of time in the story, but I figure you people came for Kurtbastian, not Kurt's college life. I don't know much about hip piercings or surface piercings in general, so bear with me here. Also, police chases.**

When Kurt woke up the next day, his head was pounding and he hated himself.

He had made out with Sebastian.

And had felt something.

He was feeling things for _Sebastian freaking Smythe_. Oh God, he'd turned into every Lima Loser from Scandals.

No. Kurt Elizabeth Hummel would not be used by Sebastian. This just could not _be_.

Kurt resolved to avoid Sebastian after that, and it worked, for a little while. He ignored his calls, deleted the texts (after staring at each one for about five minutes, but shh), and stayed clear of any place the smarmy Meerkat might show up. He tried to ignore the way he almost missed his snide remarks.

Kurt had forgotten one very important thing about avoiding Sebastian, and coming home from class on Thursday, he found one pissed off ex-Warbler in his apartment, and that one thing suddenly hit him.

Sebastian knew where he lived.

"Hey there, Gayface," Sebastian drawled, stalking towards Kurt and casually kicking the front door shut, as Kurt had frozen when he saw Sebastian and had left it wide open. He took Kurt's bag out of his hand and placed it carefully on the counter before turning back to Kurt and, in the countertenor's opinion, getting way, way too close for Kurt to be able to properly ignore him. He placed one hand against the door on either side of Kurt and leaned forward.

"You promised to help me, Princess, and you're going to," Sebastian said almost sternly when Kurt still stayed silent. He was focusing on looking over Sebastian's shoulder instead of directly at him, and trying not to think of how the taller boy still smelled like cinnamon.

"You can't back out now." The horrible, nasty, _gorgeous_ Meerkat whispered, leaning in even closer and looking directly into Kurt's eyes. Kurt felt his pulse pick up and knew he had to do something, anything to get Sebastian away from him, now._ Don't be a Lima Loser_, Kurt told himself.

"Fine, Craigslist," Kurt gave a long-suffering sigh. "Do you know which one you want to start with?" Some of the tension in Sebastian's shoulders disappeared as he seemed to realize Kurt would go willingly, and he grinned.

"I know exactly which one I want to start with," Sebastian pulled Kurt away from the door as he spoke, and opened it, grabbing Kurt's wrist and dragging him out into the hallway. "Oh, and we're going_ right now."_

* * *

Sebastian had apparently decided to start at the beginning, because Kurt found himself standing nervously in a tiny tattoo parlor as Sebastian pored over piercings with the receptionist. He suddenly straightened and spun around, intense green eyes fixed on Kurt. "Hummel, I don't even know why I'm even bothering to ask _you_ this, but what's hotter, a nipple ring or hip piercing?" Kurt narrowed his eyes, snorting. He looked Sebastian up and down, considering. The Smythe just grinned, stretching his arms out like he was inviting Kurt and the whole world to check him out. He was almost waiting for Kurt to lecture him like his mother would and tell him, _piercings are a horrible decision, blah, blah, blah.._

"Hip," Kurt said simply, and Sebastian stared at him, licking his lips contemplatively then nodding.

"Alright, hip then." The sullen, gothic receptionist looked between Sebastian and Kurt with her eyebrow raised, then bobbed her head, leading them to a back room. A young, tall man with a shaved head and two sleeves of tattoos strutted into the room soon after. He also simply nodded to them, going straight to the counter to prepare his equipment.

"On the table. Shirt off." He instructed after a minute, jerking his head towards Sebastian, who immediately stripped. He winked at Kurt and threw his shirt at him, snickering when Kurt flushed and rolled his eyes in response. When the man approached the table, Sebastian threw a puppy-dog eyed look at Kurt and held out his hand.

"Aren't you gonna hold my hand, Princess?" The bald man chuckled, and the two of them looked at Kurt expectantly until he rolled his eyes and slid his hand loosely into Sebastian's. The green-eyed boy instantly interwove their fingers, tightening his grasp. Kurt protested and glared at him half-heartedly, but Sebastian held his hand all through the procedure, out of the shop, and the whole way to Juliano's, where he only let go after being teased by Lucas.

"That is soo_ cu-ute_," Lucas crooned, only laughing when Sebastian slapped the back of his head.

"Whatever, just get us a table, loser," Sebastian grumbled. "I already ate, but Betty White here looks like he could use a good meal."

Kurt glowered at Sebastian. "I look good, Smythe, and you know it," Sebastian just laughed, annoying Kurt further until he slid an arm around him to guide Kurt to Sebastian's usual table.

"I know that, Princess, I'm just saying you're looking a little thin." Kurt sniffed, looking over Sebastian's own skinny frame.

"I could say the same for you."

"Ouch. Touché."

They discussed the rest of Sebastian's list while Kurt ate, Sebastian making jabs about his weight the entire time. After they simply sat and talked for a while, until Sebastian abruptly got up and handed Kurt his credit card. "Go up front and give this to Lucas to pay. I mean it Princess, _I'm paying_," He ordered, then added as an afterthought; "I gotta piss."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Because I needed to know."

"I just didn't want you worrying your pretty little head over me," Sebastian sneered, then sauntered off towards the back of the restaurant. Kurt made his way to the front, grumbling under his breath about stupid, attractive, rude Meerkats, and their stupid, attractive, distracting piercings.

"Sebastian insists on paying for my dinner," Kurt said, pouting like a child as he handed the card over to Lucas.

"You should feel special, he's never brought another guy here with him sober," Lucas cackled, taking the card and leaving Kurt alone with that thought.

Kurt found himself staring at the floor as those words ran on a constant loop through his head. When footsteps approached, he looked up, expecting Lucas. Instead, he felt a sudden presence right behind him and a deep voice hissed "Hey, pretty,"

Kurt whirled around to find a large, scruffy man staring at him like he was on Juliano's menu.

The countertenor merely raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. His heart was suddenly speeding up, but Kurt kept his face blank. "Can I help you?" He said coolly, staring the larger man in the eye.

The beast stepped closer, breathing foul breath straight into Kurt's face.

"Yeah, you can,"_ It_ leered as it reached for the waistband of Kurt's pants. Kurt stumbled back, and prepared to kick this fucker _so hard_ he would be bruised for weeks-but the freak was already falling backwards, a fist planted in his face. He tried to lurch back to his feet but Sebastian stepped forward, planting his foot in the middle of the man's chest.

"Stay down," He hissed, turning his blazing green eyes on Kurt. "Can you stay out of trouble for five minutes?" He snapped. "Seriously, I leave you alone for _two fucking seconds-"_

At that moment, two police officers passed by the front of Juliano's. The door was propped open because of the beautiful weather and the creep, still pinned to the ground, started screaming.

"Help, oh thank god, police!" He shrieked, voice coming out high and scared. "Help me, I'm being robbed!"

Sebastian stared down at the creep, dumbstruck. The police started toward them and Kurt suddenly had an idea.

He grabbed Sebastian's hand, hissed "Come on," and pulled the boy through the restaurant and out the back door before the cops could realize what's going on. The two all-out sprinted down the street until Kurt spotted a fire escape and pulled Sebastian towards it. The two scrambled up the ladder and Sebastian immediately took off running again, jumping rooftops like he did it daily for fun. _Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if he did_, Kurt thought to himself as he followed Sebastian, a few steps behind. They're still being chased, he's sure, because there's the distant sound of a radio crackling and footsteps behind them. They had to escape fast, before the misguided policemen called in backup. Sebastian apparently had the same thought, because when they jumped buildings again and found themselves on a brownstone with a pool out back, Sebastian stopped.

"I hope you can swim, Princess," He grunted, wrapping both arms around Kurt's waist and pitching them both off the roof.

* * *

Kurt froze up as warm air rushed around him. The ground was gone, the world was blurred and going by, fast, and he was too terrified to even scream. Then Kurt couldn't breathe and his eyes were burning-_water,_ his brain told him, _swim_-and finally he broke the surface, gasping as he scrambled out of the pool and Sebastian grabbed his hand again, wheezing and stumbling but still moving. The taller boy pulled Kurt into a shady alley until they came up to a side door with chipped black paint.

Sebastian tugged a key ring out of the pocket of his soaked jeans and fumbled to put the right one in the lock. He pushed the door open after a minute and forced Kurt through the door, up a flight of tiled stairs and down a matching hallway to another black door. He used a different key and half-fell through the doorway, jerking Kurt through and slamming the door shut. Kurt was about to protest against being pulled everywhere like a pet dog, but Sebastian was in his face all of the sudden, even more pissed than when Kurt had first seen him that morning. "What the fuck, Kurt? Wanna tell me what that was about?" He hissed. It wasn't like in the restaurant either; Sebastian wasn't just pissed, Kurt thought. He was livid. Green eyes blazing like emeralds with a fire roaring behind them, solid chest heaving, fists clenched, and lip curled into a feral snarl.

Kurt was pretty sure it would be terrifying to anyone else, but oddly enough, he found this side of Sebastian _incredibly_ sexy. That thought helped him stay calm enough to lift his chin, cross his arms and say condescendingly; "Wow Craigslist, that's not the thank you I expected. You just crossed off number seven on your list." His lips curved into a smile as Sebastian froze completely, dropping his keys.

_#7, Have a chase like in fuckin movies._

Sebastian stared at Kurt in what looked like pure amazement, and words spewed out of his mouth. "What the fuck,_ Kurt_, you _crazy_ fucking-oh my God, _I don't even_-holy shit," Kurt started laughing, and Sebastian laughed too, until they were both dropping onto the floor, hiccuping and howling with mirth in their drenched clothes. Kurt blamed the adrenaline still pumping through their veins from the ridiculous police chase he had just gotten them into. Eventually Sebastian calmed down and rolled on his back, looking over at Kurt who was propped up against the wall, giggling and trying to fix his hair.

"This is my apartment, by the way. I'm gonna run and get both of us some dry clothes." Kurt nodded, slowly getting to his feet and looking around.

The apartment suited Sebastian just as well as Juliano's. Everything was simple and in warm tones, with a few wild twists, like the full liquor cabinet in the kitchen and neon pink flamingo lamp in the living room. _Note to self, ask Sebastian about his crazy flamingo lamp sometime._

Sebastian returned in a pair of burgundy sweatpants and a tight black T-shirt that had a clearly visible bump under it where Sebastian had wrapped his new hip piercing. He tossed Kurt a bundle of clothes and pointed him towards the bathroom. Kurt slipped into the black sweatpants and soft baby blue T-shirt Sebastian had given him, trying not to think about how the clothes had the same warm cinnamon smell as Sebastian himself. He failed, miserably, and was blushing pink again when he found Sebastian waiting for him in the living room.

"Since we're now wanted men, thanks to you, I figured you should hide here until they fuck off or figure out that freak was the one trying to assault someone." Sebastian's eyes got hard towards the end of his statement, and Kurt looked down, suddenly embarrassed.

"You..you didn't have to do that." He said softly.

Sebastian looked at him like he was insane. "Um, yeah, I did, Hummel. He was kind of trying to stick his hand down your pants." He brushed past Kurt and whispered in his ear. "Knight in shining armor, remember? C'mon,"

Sebastian led Kurt into his room without looking back, and Kurt was glad, because his face was blushing bright pink again. Sebastian's bedroom was your typical messy boy room, littered with dirty clothes. There was a T.V. next to his bed with an absolutely giant stack of movies, and Sebastian quickly went through them, drawing one out and waving it at Kurt. "St. Elmo's Fire," He smirked, putting it into the DVD player under his T.V..

Kurt brightened immediately. "John Hughes is a genius," He squealed. "I love this movie." _Weird_, Kurt thought. He and Sebastian Smythe had the same taste in movies. Sebastian hummed in agreement and started the movie before turning and falling onto his bed.

He stretched his hands out towards Kurt. "C'mere,"

"Oh, God," Kurt laughed, climbing onto the bed. "You're a cuddle whore, aren't you?"

"Maybe," Sebastian said defensively, pulling Kurt over to him and sliding both arms around his waist.

Kurt leaned his head on Sebastian's shoulder, giggling madly. "You so are!"

"Shut up!" Sebastian pouted, tickling Kurt again. After a lot of pleading and bickering, they finally settled down comfortably and watched the film, occasionally commenting on a character or a scene. Kurt found himself dozing off before the movie was over and thought, not for the first time, about how surreal the situation was. He was in Sebastian Smythe's apartment, curled up on his chest, watching a movie together, while wearing his clothes.

Kurt Hummel fell asleep feeling safer and happier than he had in a long time, with his head on Sebastian's chest, his fingers curled in the other boys shirt, and both of Sebastian's arms loosely wound around his body.

His last thought before he drifted off was, _Well, there goes ignoring him._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Ok, this chapter is way overdue and I apologize, but there was a death in the family, and I was feeling a bit uninspired. My inbox has been blowing up with all kinds of story alerts and favorites, which made me smile, so thanks guys. :) This chapter is a little short and kind of filler, but its necessary. You shall see why later :) Chapter 7 will be up really soon, I promise. Read and reviewww!**

The next morning Kurt awoke in utter confusion. He was cold, and alone, but everything still smelled like smarmy meerkat. He sat up slowly, peering around Sebastian's empty bedroom

Silence.

"Hello?" Kurt called, voice raspy from sleeping late. _Oh, god. I slept late! Shit, I have class today.._ Kurt leapt from the bed, suddenly panicked. He stumbled out into the hallway, and heard a groan coming from the bathroom he'd changed in the day before.

Kurt knocked on the door and got only another groan in response, and a hacking cough that sounded almost wet. He slowly pushed the door open. "Meerkat, why didn't you wake me up, I'm-" Kurt froze.

Sebastian looked like he had more or less collapsed on the bathroom floor and had his forehead pressed to the toilet seat. "That's unsanitary," Kurt muttered, shuddering. Dull, red-rimmed eyes opened to look at him, looking more muddy hazel than green today. Sebastian squinted, like he was having trouble focusing on Kurt.

"Don't care," The ex-Warbler managed to say hoarsely. He pressed his forehead back where it was. "It feels cool."

Kurt frowned and kneeled down next to Sebastian, all panic about being late forgotten. He touched the taller boy's forehead with the back of his hand and let out a low hiss. Sebastian was burning up. It worried Kurt more that the boy didn't react at all when Kurt touched him and didn't even seem to have heard the hiss. Kurt sighed. School would have to wait. There was no way he could leave Sebastian like this, smarmy meerkat or not.

"Smythe," Kurt said softly, shaking Sebastian's shoulder. The boy groaned again but didn't move. "Smythe, come on. You're sick. You need to get back in bed."

"No," Sebastian moaned, abruptly pitching over the toilet and vomiting. Kurt winced. He sounded miserable, and he definitely couldn't stay here on the bathroom floor. Kurt rose to his feet and reluctantly left the sick boy to get a bucket and place it by Sebastian's bed. He doubted that the other boy was done puking. When he returned Sebastian still hadn't moved. Kurt rolled his eyes and placed his hands under Sebastian's arms, carefully lifting him up and half-dragging, half-carrying him back down the hall to his bed. Sebastian let out an audible sigh of relief when Kurt settled him onto his bed and arranged the covers around the Smythe.

Kurt bit his lip, eyes sweeping over the normally exuberant boy. He was deathly pale, with dark bags under his eyes. Kurt's frown deepened as he noticed Sebastian was shaking. He pulled out his phone and ducked out into the hallway, calling the first number he had on speed-dial.

_"Kurt! I was so worried, you weren't picking up and then you didn't come to breakfast, and I didn't see you on campus today, and-"_

"I'm fine, Rachel. I'm not coming to class today, so could you please take notes for me?"

_"Well, I always already take notes, but I could make you a copy. Why aren't you coming to class? What happened? Is ev-"_

Kurt heard Sebastian puking in the other room and cringed. "Look, I have to go, I promise I'll explain later." Kurt had decided he was going to stay and take care of Sebastian. It was the least he could do after the Smythe had given him warm clothes and let him stay over the night before. After poking around for a bit, Kurt found two washcloths and an extra blanket and hurried back to the bedroom. He had soaked both washcloths in cold water and when he laid one across Sebastian's forehead the ex-Warbler's eyes flashed open.

"What are you doing?" He rasped, looking exhausted just from the effort of staying awake. Before Kurt had a chance to answer, Sebastian surged forward and heaved into the bucket again, before falling back against the headboard with a thunk.

"Well, you wouldn't know this, but when a decent human being finds someone passing out in their bathroom, they take care of them." Kurt answered cheerfully, leaning forward and wiping Sebastian's face with the other washcloth. He ignored the way Sebastian's eyes widened at the gesture.

"I'll be fine, you should go." Sebastian protested weakly, sitting up a little more. Kurt gave him a flat look, and the ex-Warbler grimaced. "Fine, but really, I'll be alright." Kurt noted idly that Sebastian didn't look like he believed his own words, and nearly smirked when the Smythe jerked forward to vomit again.

The rest of the morning passed in the same fashion, with Sebastian sleeping lightly between fits of heaving. Sometime after noon the ex-Warbler's fever seemed to worsen and he started thrashing around, sweating profusely.

"Tell me what's wrong," Kurt murmured, wiping Sebastian's forehead and neck with a cloth.

"Everything's too hot, then too cold, and too..dizzy," Sebastian panted, kicking the blankets off then shivering violently. Kurt was somewhat impressed that (unlike Puck and Finn) Sebastian didn't turn into a whiny, pathetic baby when he got sick. In fact, up until now he'd refused to tell Kurt how he felt at all, and somehow that only made Kurt want to take care of him more. It was almost irritating.

Sebastian let out a muffled moan of pure frustration, burying his face in a pillow before suddenly tossing the pillow across the room. Kurt sighed, and reluctantly scooted forward to put the Smythe's head in his lap. _I can't believe I'm doing this._ Kurt pulled the blankets up around the boy's shoulders.

"What're ya doing?" Sebastian said quietly, blinking blearily up at Kurt.

"This is what I used to do with my mom after she got sick. She was always getting fevers," Kurt whispered, avoiding Sebastian's eyes and focusing on his fingers, which were absently stroking through Sebastian's hair. The taller boy's eyes fluttered closed.

"'M sorry," He whispered, even quieter than Kurt. Kurt smiled sadly, remembering. This would always help his mom get to sleep when the fevers and the tremors and the puking kept her up. The only difference, he told himself, is that Sebastian's going to be fine in a day or two. So don't even go there.

After that, Sebastian slept for hours, chest steadily rising and falling as he lay still curled up in Kurt's lap. The next time he awoke it was getting dark and Kurt had lost all feeling in his legs.

"You still here?" Sebastian muttered, squinting sleepily. He sounded and looked better than he had all day, and Kurt smiled in satisfaction, reaching out to feel Sebastian's forehead again.

"Your fever broke." The Smythe looked surprised, but kept his decidedly more green gaze fixed on Kurt.

"Yes, it did. So thank you for the babysitting and all, but I think you ought to get back to your life. Young Barbra Streisand is probably sending out a search party by now."

Kurt laughed, stretching out his stiff legs. "The search party would never look here."

Sebastian half-smirked. "No, they wouldn't."

The tall boy stretched, craning his neck and looking oddly feline. He settled back on his pillows and glanced up at Kurt. "Really, I'll be fine. I'll even make a doctor's appointment or something if it'll make you feel better, Princess."

Kurt rolled his eyes, already heading for the door. "Ah, how I missed the name-calling."

Sebastian sniggered behind him, the laugh quickly turning to a harsh cough. "Bye, Gay-face!"

"Bye, Meerkat."

"That's_ smarmy_ meerkat to you."

Kurt merely flipped him the bird, half-smiling as Sebastian's hoarse laughter followed him all the way out the door.

* * *

The next morning on the way to school Kurt called Sebastian to make sure he had actually made a doctor's appointment. The phone rang forever, and Kurt called three times, but Sebastian didn't pick up. Kurt frowned. Well, hopefully he was sleeping. Kurt managed to push all thoughts of Sebastian out of his head until his phone buzzed half way through a lecture on vocal control.

**From: Craigslist**

**You can stop worrying now, princess. I went, its just the flu. I should be able to kick it in a couple of days. Thanks for playing nurse**

Kurt fought a smile as he texted back, '_You wish I would play nurse for you'_and slid his phone back in his bag.

Kurt didn't actually see Sebastian for the rest of the week, but they were constantly texting, and through Sebastian's messages Kurt got the vague feeling that something was bothering him. Knowing that something was bothering Sebastian bothered _Kurt,_ a fact that bothered Kurt even more. But that train of thought was going nowhere good. Kurt frowned as he sipped his drink. He was sitting at Lipservice's bar, as he often did when he needed to think.

I've got to cheer Sebastian up somehow, Kurt thought. He remembered how hard the green-eyed boy had laughed after their rooftop police chase, and his lips curled into a scheming smile.

"Uh oh," Nicki teased, leaning on the bar across from him. "I know that look. What are you plotting now?"

"Oh nothing," Kurt trilled, feigning innocence. "I just need you to tell everyone theres gonna be an extra-special performance Friday night, mkay?"

Nicki grinned, letting out a low, rasping laugh. "Sure thing, babe."

Kurt grinned straight back at her. Oh, this was gonna be fun.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I know I haven't updated for a bit, but there's been two trips to the emergency room in my family this week and...well. Thank you for the reviews. You're lovely, all of you.**

Kurt was up on stage running through their routine sound check with the house band Friday afternoon when his phone buzzed.

**From: Nicki-Baby**

**Everything's good babe. Time to set the hook;)**

Kurt smirked and quietly excused himself before slipping out onto Lipservice's back stoop and quickly scrolling through the 'C's' in his contacts. He hummed impatiently as the phone rang. Then finally, a small click.

"Hey Princess," Sebastian's voice came loftily from down the line. "How can I help you today?"

Kurt made his voice bright and hopeful. "I was just wondering if you wanted to come down to Lipservice tonight? Everyone's coming to the show and I figured you couldn't pass up an excuse to insult all of my closest friends."

Sebastian let out a contemplative hum. Kurt bit his lip. "Well, I was kind of planning on seducing innocent men and kicking puppies." Kurt could actually hear the smile in the Smythe's teasing voice. "You know, all my usual nefarious hobbies. But I guess I could take a break for one night."

Kurt laughed. "Good. I'm sure you could use the good karma. Oh, and if you come around the back door instead of going through the front I can sneak you in for free."

Snort. "I'm starting to think I'm a bad influence on you, Hummel. I guess I'll see you tonight."

"Bye," Kurt said sweetly, hanging up and sending a quick message.

**To: Nicki-Baby**

**Mmm. Hook, line, and sinker.**

There was an immediate response.

**From: Nicki-Baby**

**I'm so proud. My little Kurtie is all grown up :')**

Kurt went back inside, pocketing his phone with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm surrounded by crazy people." He muttered, smiling.

* * *

Luck appeared to be on Kurt's side that night, because everything couldn't have possibly went better. There wasn't an empty seat in the house, and Sebastian showed up on the back step about two minutes before the show started. Nicki led him toward the backstage area, where Kurt was waiting, adjusting his tie.

"Casper!" Sebastian said with sarcastic joy, fake-smiling at him. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Kurt smiled hugely. "I'm so glad to see you too! Because you're on in about ninety seconds."

The green eyes went wide, muscled shoulders stiffened, jaw went slack. Sebastian finally managed to mutter_ "You awful bitch."_

"You said I had to help you." Kurt wheedled, grinning like a jack o' lantern. Sebastian wasn't the only one that could someone's earlier words against them. "No backing out now."

"What am I supposed to sing?" Sebastian seethed. Kurt would bet he was the type that spent hours psyching himself up and going over every second of the performance in his head before he went on. Oh well.

Kurt produced a small list. "This."

Sebastian scanned it and raised an amused eyebrow at Kurt. "You've been planning this for a while, haven't you?"

Kurt tossed his chin and gave a diva-ish shrug. "You aren't the only one who can have evil plots, Sebastian Smythe."

Sebastian grinned, genuinely this time. He rubbed his hands together, a maniacal glint lighting in his eyes.

"Alright then. Let's do this."

Twenty minutes later, Kurt thought it was safe to say that the show was going well. Sebastian had the crowd going wild. Lipservice was crazier than Kurt had ever seen, and he was loving every second of it. As the spectators calmed after Sebastian's rendition of The Killer's "All These Things That I've Done", the tall boy scanned the bar, eyes landing on Kurt. Then, winking conspiratorially, Sebastian began to sing, voice lofty, husky and lower than Kurt had ever heard it.

_I saw him dancin' there by the record machine.._

_I knew he must a been about seventeen_

Kurt couldn't help the mildly maniacal smile that spread over his face as people wolf whistled. He knew, without a doubt, that Sebastian was singing to him, and it caused a warm, unfamiliar feeling of something unfurling in his chest. It was exhilarating. Sure, he'd been serenaded before, but this was a far cry from Blaine and the Pip's rendition of 'Teenage Dream'. And though Kurt was surprised that Joan Jett was in the ex-prep boy's repertoire, he found that the Smythe's version was taking his breath away. This song was different. It was raw, impromptu, and 100% Sebastian.

_The beat was goin' strong_

_Playin' my favorite song_

Sebastian swung his gaze from Kurt to the general audience, best playboy smirk curling his lips. Kurt swore he could hear Nicki cat calling.

_An' I could tell it wouldn't be long_

_Till he was with me, yeah me_

_And I could tell it wouldn't be long_

_Till he was with me, yeah me, singin'_

_I love rock n' roll_

_So put another dime in the jukebox, baby_

_I love rock n' roll_

_So come and take your time and dance with me_

Sebastian was looking back at Kurt now, swaggering to the front of the platform. He beckoned for the countertenor to come closer. Kurt wearily approached the stage, letting out a sharp gasp when Sebastian grabbed his wrist and pulled him up next to him. Then the crowd was screaming, and there was a microphone in his hand. Kurt rolled his eyes and turned away from Sebastian, peering coyly over his shoulder.

_He smiled so I got up and asked for his name_

_That don't matter, he said,_

_'Cause it's all the same_

_Said can I take you home?_

_Where we can be alone_

Kurt dropped his voice suddenly, making it gravelly as it had been during his awful straight phase and 'Pink Houses'.

_An' next we were movin' on_

_He was with me, yeah me_

_Next we were movin' on_

_He was with me, yeah me, singin'_

Sebastian snatched another microphone seemingly out of nowhere. Kurt shivered. He looked as predatory as he had during the Micheal Jackson battle, except this time the ex-Warbler's eyes were glinting with something that was definitely not anger.

_I love rock n' roll_

_So put another dime in the jukebox, baby_

_I love rock n' roll_

_So come an' take your time an' dance with me_

Kurt distantly registered that they sounded damn good together, but couldn't manage to keep his mind on that because now Sebastian was prowling towards him, one hand running along Kurt's hip as Sebastian hooked his chin over Kurt's shoulder, singing the next part straight in his ear.

_Said can I take you home?_

_Where we can be alone_

_Next we were movin' on_

_He was with me, yeah me,_

_An we'll be movin' on_

_An' singin' that same old song_

_Yeah with me, singin'_

_I love rock n' roll_

_So put another dime in the jukebox, baby_

_I love rock n' roll_

_So come an' take your time an' dance with_

The entire crowd was stamping and clapping to the beat, screaming the words back to the boys on stage. Kurt felt euphoria and elation taking over his body as the chorus repeated over and over, fading away as the whole club went crazy. Then they were both thrust into the mob of people, getting compliments, hands shaken, and just generally manhandled. Kurt didn't see the other boy again until nearly an hour later. He was talking with Nicki, another bartender, and one of the house band members when Sebastian suddenly materialized next to him, smoothly cutting into the conversation.

"Excuse me, Princess and I need to have a word." Kurt looked at him curiously, but Sebastian's face was a perfect mask, staring him down. The countertenor sighed and allowed himself to be led back through the club to the back step. Kurt shuddered, settling against the old brick building. It was cold tonight.

"What do we need to talk about, exactly? I'm tired, and-"

Kurt's complaint was cut off by a warm cinnamon smell and slightly chapped lips pressing against his. When the taller boy finally pulled away, Kurt gave him a teasing half-smile, peering up at him through long eyelashes. "That's a weird way of talking. Not that I'm complaining, but.." Sebastian groaned exasperatedly and promptly shut Kurt up again, leaning in and sucking on his lower lip. Kurt couldn't hold back a soft moan at that, and, well...

He didn't remembering hailing a cab. He didn't remember removing his lips or hands from Sebastian at all, but somehow the two of them were stumbling out of the back of one, half intertwined. Kurt once again found himself pressed into a wall, Sebastian hands on his thighs, lifting him completely off the ground. Kurt wrapped his legs tight around him, grinding his hips down into the taller boy's. This earned him a rather loud moan as Sebastian pressed hot, open-mouthed kisses all the way down his pale throat, stopping and sucking on his collar bone.

Kurt also didn't remember moving from the front of Sebastian's apartment building to his bed. However, he remembered very, very clearly how mind-blowing and_ right_ the sex was. How every single touch felt warm and welcome on his skin and the way Sebastian felt inside him. It was happiness and home and everything good the world had ever given him. And Kurt loved it. Loved the feeling, loved Sebastian falling asleep on his chest afterward, loved the way that spicy smell seemed to stick to him now, too. Most of all, he loved the light, indescribable feeling that engulfed him watching over Sebastian's shoulder the next day as he checked off #4 on his list. Kurt was pretty sure his smile was brighter than the city skyline at night.

They got a whole hour of peace before both their phones started blowing up. Apparently a picture of the two performing at Lipservice the night before was on the front page of the Arts section of the paper. Kurt watched smugly as Sebastian checked off #6. ("I'm pretty good at this, aren't I?" "Shut up, Casper.")

After that, things only got better. Kurt found himself spending more nights at Sebastian's apartment than his own. Even when they don't spend the night together, breakfast with Finn and Rachel has turned into breakfast with Finn, Rachel, and Sebastian. No one seems to mind. Sebastian smiles a lot more now, but it seems like every time Kurt turns around those damn green eyes are fixed on him, contemplating.

One terrifying afternoon is spent skydiving. Kurt stays on the ground, because he has a brain,_ thank you very much_. Watching his not-boyfriend-but-something-like-that free fall out of the sky is scary enough. By the time Sebastian is back on the ground, Kurt's nearly hyperventilating. The stupid smirky meerkat just laughs, right in his face.

"Don't worry so much," He advises, crossing off number five with a wink.

Nights are spent either on wild double dates with Santana and Brittany, or curled up together in Kurt's flat, while Kurt pores over his homework and Sebastian does his best to distract him. Surprisingly, they spend just as much time talking as they do having sex.

Kurt tells Sebastian all about McKinley, his dad, and going from the Hummels to the Hudmels. After much prompting, he even tells the story of David Karofsky before Sebastian knew him. That particular conversation ended with Kurt straddling Sebastian on the floor, wrestling his phone away from the furious ex-Warbler.

"You're not gonna threaten him," Kurt had yelled, jabbing a finger into Sebastian's chest.

The green-eyed boy slapped it away and tried to push Kurt off of him, screaming back; "No, I'm gonna _kill him_!_"_

Sebastian also shares his past; the wild nights in Paris, his days as a Dalton Academy Warbler, and his childhood in his parent's pristine beach house in Ibiza, playing with his sisters. Some nights, curled up in Kurt's favorite arm chair, the countertenor sitting on Sebastian's lap, the green-eyed boy trusts Kurt with all his life's philosophies, and all his wildest dreams. Kurt found that he had been right; there was a whole other person under Sebastian's heartless, pretty-boy exterior.

They still teased each other constantly, but serious arguments were always resolved almost immediately. Kurt couldn't remember feeling this happy since before his mom died.

But of course, all good things can't last forever.

And the end to all good things was slowly building up in the back of Kurt's mind. He had heard Sebastian say, time after time back in Lima, that he didn't do commitments. But Kurt's Sebastian wasn't the same as Lima Sebastian, and so, he wondered. He wondered if Sebastian liked Kurt as much as Kurt liked him (he wasn't quite ready for the other L-word), and even occasionally let his fears get the best of him, wondering if Sebastian liked him that much at all, and if the wild boy he had grown to adore would even stick around after his list was finished. After all, there was only one thing left to check off.

It certainly didn't help that Sebastian refused to put a label on their relationship. Whenever anyone even mentioned it his shoulders would tense up and he would get mean._ Maybe not so different from Lima Sebastian, _Kurt thought.

Kurt was careful not to mention his fears around Sebastian, but the boy practically had a sixth sense when it came to Kurt and within a few days they were sitting silently across from each other at Kurt's dingy kitchen table. Sebastian frowned at him.

"What did I do?" He asked roughly. Sebastian's walls were up, already prepared for this, and it only made Kurt feel sadder.

"Nothing," Kurt managed, voice coming out too high.

Sebastian snorted. "Yeah, right."

"No really, it's nothing." Kurt tried to stop his lip from trembling. "That's just it. Sometimes I feel like I mean_ nothing_ to you." Sebastian merely looked at him for a long moment, eyes wide. He opened his mouth to speak, then pursed his lips. Kurt could feel the thing in his chest coiling painfully tighter.

"That isn't true." Sebastian eventually said quietly. Kurt gave him a mocking smile. Sebastian almost looked pleading now. "I just-I can't, Kurt. I have to focus on this list. I've got to finish. _I've got to finish_," He repeated, almost to himself. To his credit, Sebastian looked terribly confused and depressed, and Kurt softened. He reached across the table for Sebastian's hand, but the ex-Warbler snatched his hand back, and leapt out of his seat. Kurt's chest restricted painfully.

"What's wrong with you?" Kurt whispered without thinking, glasz eyes watery as he watched Sebastian pace the room, running his fingers through his hair. The boy gave a sharp, bitter laugh.

"That's the question, isn't it? A lot of things are wrong with me. Too many." He stopped pacing and whirled around to face Kurt. "And I don't think you can handle it, Hummel." His scathing laugh sounded forced. He looked over Kurt with a condescending eye, but there was tension in his shoulders, and Sebastian seemed to be rushing to get this argument over with. "I should've learned my lesson on letting hook ups get too serious."

Kurt couldn't move. The iron weight in his chest froze him from the inside out and he stared wordlessly as Sebastian went for the door, some small part of his mind trying to tell him Sebastian didn't mean it. The green-eyed boy didn't look back, but he shut the door carefully instead of slamming it dramatically like Kurt figured he would.

But then, maybe Kurt didn't know Sebastian like he thought he did.

It felt like hours before the ball in his chest seemed to turn to glass and shatter. Kurt fell to his knees, laughing and laughing until it turned to tears. He remembered staying up late one night talking, and Sebastian telling him one of his life mottos.

_"Take only memories, leave nothing but footprints."_

Kurt completely collapsed on the old wood floor, feeling for all the world like he was nothing but one of those footprints. Unimportant and bound to wear away. Not garnering a single look back as he was left behind.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Okay, I wasn't going to reveal this for the sake of the story, but a lot of you seem generally worried so...NO, I will not be killing Sebastian. It may turn out rather open ended or have a definite ending, I haven't decided yet. Maybe you guys should tell me what I should do or something.**

The next week was hell for Kurt. He would crawl out of bed in the morning, attempt to eat something, give up, stumble through his classes, crawl back in to bed, and lay awake for another night. Rachel and Finn were beating down his door at all hours of the day to see if he was 'doing okay' but Kurt just mumbled affirmations until they left him alone.

The entire week passed that way until Friday night, Santana and Brittany casually walked into his-locked-apartment and wordlessly presented Kurt with '27 Dresses' and a carton of ice cream. Cuddled between the two of them on his couch, Kurt felt oddly better, something besides numbness seeping back into his body.

Watching Katherine Heigl and James Marsden sing 'Bennie and the Jets' in whatever seedy bar, Kurt noticed Brittany, curled up on his chest, quietly start to sing along. Chuckling quietly, he joined in. It quickly escalated, turning into a duet as Brittany lifted her head to croon the lyrics to Kurt and bat her eyelashes. They leapt off the couch, singing loudly as Santana watched them in amusement.

Britt danced over to her girlfriend and held out her hand.

"No way," Santana said, attempting to scowl as she scooted away from the blonde beauty.

Brittany pouted her lip out, making puppy dog eyes, but Santana shook her head. Brittany turned the puppy dog look on Kurt, who grinned, and then suddenly the two of them were heaving Santana off the couch, Kurt singing _"Buh-buh-buh-Benny and the Jets,"_ right in her face. She swatted at him, laughing now. Undeterred, Kurt spun her in some sort of crazy dance toward Brittany, who grabbed both of their hands and danced them around the living room.

Kurt ducked away from the pair, jumping onto his couch and singing,_ "She's got electric boots, and a mohair suit,"_ as loud as he could while Brittany led Santana in a sped-up waltz. As Katherine stepped off the bar into James Marsden's arms on-screen, the three collapsed, laughing, on the couch.

"Y'know, Hummel," Santana said conversationally, a while after they had calmed down. "Geoffrey the Giraffe obviously has some issues he needs to work out. This isn't over between you two ponies, that kind of hot sexual tension doesn't just go away, but for now I think you need to just forget about him. Watching you slog around like Berry after a fight with Finnocence isn't a good look."

Brittany nodded enthusiastically, grabbing Kurt's hand. "You could like, become a go-go dancer and sleep with his friends. That's what I did whenever guys I liked were mean to me."

Kurt let out a half-hysterical giggle, squeezing her hand. "I'll um, keep that in mind. Thanks?"

"Anytime, Lady Lips."

* * *

Kurt found himself taking a bit of both girls' advice. They had a point.

There was no way Kurt was just going to forget about Sebastian, but trying to put him out of his mind for a while definitely couldn't hurt. Also, Santana was right; looking like Rachel after a fight with Finn was not a good look. As for Brittany, Kurt had no intention of sleeping with anyone or becoming a go-go dancer, but a few changes in his life and re-inventing himself a little could be a good distraction.

And Kurt knew just the perfect way to re-invent himself. Anything that would horrify Rachel and delight Santana like this would probably wasn't a good life choice, but Kurt apparently hadn't made a lot of those lately anyway.

Like trusting his heart to Sebastian Smythe? Yeah, bad life choice. Way to go, Hummel.

Bad life choice or not, Saturday afternoon found Kurt sitting in the same tattoo parlor he had gone to with Sebastian, absently paging through a book of tattoos and piercings.

"You're up, kid," The girl from the front desk said suddenly, tilting her head toward the back room. Kurt nodded jerkily, rising to his feet and letting them carry him down the hall without thinking. The same tall, bald man from last time was waiting there. He smiled and nodded at Kurt in recognition. Kurt managed a wane smile in return.

The man turned to the counter, preparing his equipment. "Where's your friend?" He asked over his shoulder.

Kurt blinked in surprise. He remembered the man as not being very chatty before. "I'm afraid we're not uh-friends anymore."

The bald man tsked. "Really, now? The two of you seemed pretty smitten before."

Kurt flinched, letting out a breath harshly. "I guess not." He said, more bitterly than he'd intended.

The man stopped at that, pausing in cleaning his equipment and turning to raise an eyebrow at Kurt, who flushed. After a moment, the man resumed cleaning his things, eyes narrowed in thought. "What's your name, kid?"

Kurt licked his lips nervously. "Kurt."

"Well, Kurt, let me tell you something about boys like that. They're all smiles and confidence at first, but when you really get to know them, they're a fuckin' hot mess. They take a long time to get their shit together. I wouldn't be surprised if in a while he showed up on your door step, begging to be 'friends' again."

Kurt blushed at the emphasis on_ friends_, and let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, maybe." The man gave Kurt a look reminiscent of the one Santana gave when she thought you were being an idiot, then tsked again and jerked his chin toward the stainless steel table.

"Shirt off." Kurt obediently peeled off his grey button down and lay back, trying not to tense from nerves.

"You getting this for him?" The man asked as he leaned over him. Kurt closed his eyes at a wave of nerves and slight nausea and fought the urge to shrug in response as the man pinched the skin on his collarbone.

"Not for him," He managed. "Just needed a change." The man hummed in response.

"Put your head back and relax."

Kurt did as he said, trying not to jerk away or yell when he felt a sharp sensation and then heard a click. He'd decided on a microdermal collarbone piercing. He'd always secretly thought those type of piercings were sexy. Kurt felt another dull jolt of pain as the man pressed the heel of the piercing in and then he was gently tapping Kurt's shoulder.

"Good job, kid. You're done." He announced with a small smile.

"Thanks," Kurt replied breathily, sitting up and grabbing for his shirt.

"Names Nico," He said, walking Kurt to the door and shaking his hand. "In case you need anything or have any questions. And Kurt.."

Nico gave Kurt a stern, knowing look, also rather reminiscent of Santana. "Next time you're in here, that friend of yours had better be right next to you, holding _your_ hand."

* * *

That night Kurt met both the Brittana and Finchel couples for dinner. "It'll be perfect," Rachel had gushed over the phone. "You haven't met Finn and I for breakfast all week, Kurt, I miss you!" Where they were going was a 'surprise', Rachel insisted.

They took him to_ freaking_ Juliano's. And_ freaking_ Lucas was at the _freaking_ front,_ freaking_ beaming at him like everything hadn't changed.

"Kurt!" Lucas had exclaimed as they walked in, actually leaving the front desk to hug him. He'd had another server seat his friends, insisting that Kurt would rejoin them in a moment, then he pulled Kurt aside into a quieter corner of the restaurant.

"What's going on?" Kurt asked worriedly. Lucas was wearing a serious expression for the first time since Kurt met him.

"Have you seen Sebastian lately?" Lucas asked in a low voice. "He's come here at least twice a week for the past three months and I haven't seen him for two weeks now."

Kurt swallowed hard, biting his lip and staring at the ground rather than answering.

Hands gently gripped his shoulders. "Kurt. Kurt? If you know something could you tell me, please? He's my friend and I've been worried about him for a while now. I just want to know what's wrong."

Kurt let out a shaky laugh, looking at Lucas sadly. "I don't know what's wrong with him. I haven't seen him since last Friday, when he decided I was "just a hook up that got too serious" and left."

Lucas' grip on his shoulders slackened, and he looked at Kurt with wide eyes. After a second, he started laughing.

"What about that could possibly be funny?" Kurt asked incredulously as the man doubled over, blue eyes glittering as he guffawed.

"You being a hook up to him, that's what." Lucas said smartly, snorting. "I have never seen him look at a human being the way he looked at you. Leaving though..Classic Sebastian move." The man rolled his eyes. "When I see him next I'm going to literally tackle him and hold him down until he tells me what he's playing at with all this. But you had better get back to your friends and have dinner." He patted Kurt on the shoulder. "Don't be a stranger, alright?"

Kurt stumbled through Juliano's, which was crowded tonight, until he spotted Finn's tall frame. He felt slightly better after talking to Lucas; knowing that the man thought Kurt was more than just a hook up and finding out that someone else thought something was wrong with Sebastian.

"Kurt, finally!" Rachel said as he sat down. "We already ordered, so I got you a grilled chicken salad. Who was that guy?"

"Just a friend," Kurt said absently. When Rachel brightened he gave her a flat look. "Not that kind of friend Rachel, honestly." She pouted.

"Dude, what's the band-aid for?" Finn said, pointing to the small bandage on Kurt's collar.

Santana grinned. "Hickey?"

"Santana," Rachel hissed.

"Worse than a hickey." Kurt said solemnly.

"Did something bite you?" Brittany leaned toward him, eyes wide. "Was it a spider? Kurt, are you gonna be Spiderman?"

Kurt smiled despite himself. "No, Britt." He peeled off the bandage.

Rachel gasped dramatically, eyes popping out of her head. Finn's mouth dropped open similarly, eyebrows raised. On the opposite side of the table, Santana cat-called loudly, clapping her hands, and Brittany smiled brightly.

"Kurt, is that a-Oh my god, that's not-?"

"Dude, when'd you get that?"

"Way to go, Hummel. I'm actually impressed."

"Kurtie, that's hot. San, can I get one?"

"How can you be so blasé about this?" Rachel demanded. "Kurt, I can't believe you got a piercing! This could ruin your career!"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Chill out, Dwarf. It's not going to ruin Porcelain's career, he's the ultimate diva and is capable of singing so high that only dogs can hear it. A piercing isn't going to change any of that. Besides, it's easy to cover up."

Rachel opened her mouth to complain again, but Finn half-smirked and suddenly declared, "I like it." She gaped like a fish at him.

"Finn Hudson, if you get a crazy piercing like that, I_ swear_!" People at nearby tables were starting to stare as Rachel's voice rose, her face getting red.

"I won't, Rach. Geez."

"Well you shouldn't encourage this sort of thing-!"

"I'm supporting my brother." Finn said, staring at Rachel as if he couldn't understand why she was acting like this.

"Well you shouldn't support him in_ this_!" Rachel burst, jumping up from the table and storming toward the bathroom.

"Thank you," Kurt said quietly to Finn, smiling warmly at his brother as he rose and followed Rachel. He grabbed her arm just as she was about to storm into the woman's restroom. She whirled around, looking like she was about to freak out on him, but Kurt put a finger to her lips.

"Rachel, I love you. But this is my body, it's an easy piercing to cover, and it was completely my decision. Okay? So you need to chill on the diva fit, and come back to dinner, because you haven't even told me how your audition went yesterday." Rachel brightened instantly and started regaling him with the tale of her audition, grabbing his hand and all but dragging Kurt back to the table.

The rest of dinner proceeded as usual and when Kurt fell into bed that night he fell asleep almost immediately. It was the first time he hadn't lain awake all night since Sebastian broke it off.

Unfortunately, he still dreamed of glittering gold-green eyes and a dangerous smile.

* * *

Another uneventful, Sebastian-less week later, Kurt was still thinking of him constantly.

He wondered if he'd found another 'hookup' and if they'd also gotten 'too serious'.

He wondered if Sebastian had checked the last item off of his list yet.

Kurt's friends wondered why Kurt hadn't gone looking for him yet. Kurt thought that Sebastian had made it perfectly clear he didn't want Kurt around anymore, and while Kurt was a lot of things he wasn't clingy and desperate enough to go looking for someone who didn't want him.

Friday night Brittany and Santana burst into his apartment for the second week in a row, and Kurt noted that he really, really needed to change the locks. This time they didn't bring a chick flick, and both were dressed to kill.

"We're going out," Santana announced. "And I don't mean sitting at the bar downstairs for an hour, Hummel. We're taking you out."

An hour and two drinks later Kurt was swaying on some grungy dance floor to an old Rihanna song, cursing Santana. Given present company it was a gay bar, naturally, and Kurt had been fighting off unwanted advances since they stepped through the door.

Santana had urged him to "lighten up and fuck around a little, honey," but none of them were tall with messy brown hair, and a big smile, and a pierced hip, and a sexy voice, and those fucking glittering eyes, a mix of gold and green and hazel..

And suddenly, Kurt was looking straight into those beautiful eyes. They were across the bar with a head of messy brown hair, but there was no big smile to be seen. Just a stricken expression as Sebastian tore his eyes away from Kurt and stalked toward the door. And as always, Kurt found himself following Sebastian without hesitation. He huffed out a little laugh as he dodged around people dancing. God, he'd probably follow that smirk and those stupid eyes straight into hell without thinking twice.

Kurt found himself in the club's dirty parking lot, with Sebastian nowhere to be seen. He frowned, tentatively walking forward and peering between rows of cars. As far as he knew, Sebastian didn't even have a car. Though he might have hitched a ride with a new "hookup"...

Kurt snapped out of his musings, jumping a little as a 'thud' sounded a a few cars over. Sebastian appeared to have collapsed on the ground, head lolling against an old Lincoln with chipped paint.

"Seb?" Kurt whispered, voice trembling as he knelt down in front of the other boy. There was no response. Kurt noticed now that Sebastian looked awful. Black circles bruised those perfect eyes, and underneath the glow of the streetlights he looked very pale.

"Seb?" Kurt repeated louder.

Sebastian opened his eyes and gave Kurt a half-hearted glare. "Leave me alone." He growled, voice rasping.

"No, I don't think so." Kurt grunted, heaving the ex-Warbler to his feet. He frowned as the taller boy immediately stumbled and leant on the old Lincoln for balance.

"Kurt, go away," Sebastian groaned, looking completely frustrated.

"You already went away, and it looks like that isn't working out too great for either one of us." Kurt responded dryly, wrapping an arm around the taller boy's waist and angling him toward Santana's car.

"Kurt-" Sebastian bit out suddenly, falling onto his knees. Kurt was on the pavement beside him in an instant as Sebastian covered his mouth with his hands, stomach heaving.

"Here," Kurt murmured, taking a handkerchief out of his coat pocket and pressing it into the other boy's hand. When it stopped Kurt once again urged Sebastian to his feet and hustled him into the backseat of Santana's SUV.

"What are you doing?" Sebastian managed, grabbing Kurt's wrist and pulling him into the backseat with him.

"Taking you to the hospital," Kurt said softly, reaching out with his free hand to trace the line of Sebastian's jaw.

The other boy's lips quirked into a wry smile. He closed his eyes as he leaned into Kurt's touch. "There'd be no point in that. They can't help me more than they already have."

Kurt felt bitter frustration well up in his chest. He was about to cry or scream or something, _anything_ but this silence and these secrets. "What does that _mean_?" Kurt heard his voice shake, but couldn't make himself steady it. "Will you please just tell me what's going on with you?"

Sebastian's eyes opened, fixing Kurt with a serious stare. He just considered the countertenor for a while before he heaved a sigh that seemed to hurt him and shifted toward Kurt. Sebastian took a deep, slow breath and took Kurt's face in his hands.

"I'll save you the specifics, babe, but I...I have cancer."

* * *

Seb waited afterward, watching Kurt. Maybe waiting for him to break into hysterics or pass out or throw the door open and run away screaming. But as always with Kurt, he didn't get what he expected.

Kurt froze up for only an instant and then he was threading his arms around Sebastian, pulling him in and holding him tight. That lovely, clear voice was right next to his ear murmuring "You idiot, why didn't you just tell me?"

Sebastian tried to push him away. Tried, because what man really wants to push away everything he's ever dreamed of?

"Princess, you need to get away from me, kay? Go get blondie and Satan and get out of here. You need to.." Sebastian swallowed hard. "Not be around me, seeing as I might not be around much longer." Kurt didn't respond to his words at all, running his fingers through Sebastian's hair. Making him shiver cause _god_, did that feel good. Sebastian cleared his throat. "Kurt, really. Its not good for you to get close to me."

Then that fucking perfect, lilting laugh was in his head. "You're ridiculous. Only you, Bas, would be worrying about _me_ right now."

"Well there's no point in worrying about me now." Sebastian scoffed, trying to gently disentangle Kurt from himself. He was starting to feel a little panicky. "Now fuck off, find your pair of lesbians and go!"

Kurt moved back an inch so he could look at Sebastian. "I'm not going anywhere." He said firmly.

"Kurt, really-"

"Shut up, sweetheart,"

"But-"

"But nothing."

"Just listen-"

"Oh I'll listen. When you're actually saying something important. Now what about these 'specifics'?"

* * *

**Okay, guys. There's probably going to be one big chapter after this then that's a wrap. Sequels are negotiable but you guys probably don't care, lol. Anyway, don't be sad over Sebastian! The next chapter is going to be happy. Promise.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So, last chapter. Now that its done, I think I wrote this because my dad died from cancer last month and I wanted to give Sebastian the happy ending he never got. Btw, the name Juliano's is a nod to Julian from ACITW..because I'm in love with him. Oh and thanks to manga fan for reviewing every chapter I love you!**

Dear Jeff,

Well..You were right. I broke down and told him. And yes, you were right again. He didn't run. He _hugged_ me.

But the aftermath...It wasn't pretty.

Kurt absolutely flipped shit when I said I wasn't getting any kind of treatment. His mood didn't exactly improve when I confessed I hadn't told anyone but you and Nick. Not even my family. (And no, still haven't..You've met them, you understand.)

I told Kurt, "I'm not spending the rest of my life laid up in bed, pumped full of morphine. What could it give me, another twelve months of misery? I picked quality of life over quantity. That's it." And that was it, to me. Over and done with. But thank god Kurt isn't me.

"That's not_ it_," Kurt was practically spitting. He was pissed. It was kinda hot. He said,"You're so strong and you're throwing your entire life away for the sake of your pride. Just because you suck at letting people take care of you."

We argued for hours but, as I now know is almost always the way it goes: Kurt got his way.

It still wasn't pretty. Him begging and lying and pleading to get me to that god awful hospital every time to try crazy new treatments or sit through another boring round of tests. Kurt would constantly thank whatever deity created health insurance and trust funds, because that particular combination allowed me to get the best health care available. Not that a Smythe would accept anything less, of course.

Chemo especially wasn't pretty. We'd spend hours on the bathroom floor, Kurt rubbing my back while I barfed til nothing came up, then barfed some more.(Don't ask me why he would want to be there for that. He's crazy.) When it eventually stopped, Kurt would slump against the bathroom wall and I would put my head in his lap and pathetically plead for him to let me DIE, this shit just wasn't worth it. And I don't want to hear you bitching about me saying shit like that. Things were bad. He'd just shush me and tell me there was no way that was happening. Ever. For some reason it still makes me smile whenever I think of it. Stubborn bitch.

It wasn't pretty when those fucking drugs made my hair fall out. That was pretty depressing. I started avoiding mirrors. You know that was exactly what I had been afraid of.

But Kurt was ridiculously determined. He'd stay up all night, singing to me while I tossed my cookies over the toilet. He bought beanies in every possible color for me to wear and informed me that I was 'still unfairly gorgeous' every day. I guess to that beautiful, ridiculous man it was true. (Shut up.) He gave me kisses and these ridiculous puppy dog eyes and threatened me until I agreed to eat something and then he'd force me back into bed whenever he thought I looked the least bit unsteady on my feet.

I got these disgusting marks on my arm, they call them "blueberry spots". I swear Kurt teared up whenever he looked at them. That shit would break my heart. Hell, sometimes I nearly teared up because Kurt kissed each one every night before we tried to sleep.

Santana and Brittany are always around now. I think they've adopted me. They've sat in on doctor visits, and I swear to you Santana sings to me whenever I feel especially shitty. She especially likes singing M.J. songs..Some things never change. Britt always gets so sad thinking of me being alone so when she isn't teaching dance classes or playing Candyland-whatever that crazy bird does with her spare time, she's at the apartment watching movies with me while Kurt's at school.

Slowly, over the past couple of months, life got...grayer. I was more tired, less hopeful, more pissy, and even skinnier. (Yeah, it was possible. Gasp.) And then..

Food didn't look so repulsive. I started hauling my skinny carcass outside for a few moments of sunshine on good days. Sometimes it didn't hurt to laugh.

We didn't dare to hope. Took it one day at a time, each one feeling like a fucking blessing. (God..when did I get so corny?) I think Kurt held his breath every time I walked across a room without having to sit down and rest. I had to make myself stop looking when I thought there were maybe a few less blueberry spots one night.

The doctors didn't dare to hope either. They cautioned over and fucking over that patients often had periods of "feeling better, then worse."

Of course, Brittany and her big, childish heart dared to hope. She'd wrap her arms around me like she was my _mother_ or something and tell me, "You're going to get better, and better, and you're going to laugh all the time, and you're going to dance with me. And then you and Kurt are going to get married." I couldn't make myself do anything but close my eyes and listen. I'd agree with everything she said, cause _god_ Jeff, it all sounded so good. I know you'd been telling me since the beginning, but I really have shit to stick around for now.

Then came the day when me and the three crazies that have adopted me were hanging in an examination room (all completely used to hospitals by now). The doctor walked in looking cockier than anything, like he'd just had the best sex of his life or some shit, and said he had "news".

He took off his stereotypical-as-all-hell glasses, smiled for the first time since we met him, and told me I was in remission.

_Remission._

_Fucking_ remission.

I'm still getting used to that..I think it's my new favorite word.

I was fucking stunned. I couldn't speak, couldn't comprehend. It felt like all of the air got knocked out of me. Santana started yelling at the top of her lungs, jumping up and down like a little kid. I wish I could have videotaped it. Brittany and Kurt somehow both started laughing and crying at the same time..? And both of them wouldn't stop fucking kissing me! Not that I minded. That would be a hot threesome.

We went to this fantastic Italian place called Juliano's that night, the four of us plus Berry, Franken-Finn, and Dino, this tattoo guy that Kurt somehow befriended..But that's a story for another time. Anyway, that's where the first picture I sent is from. The sobbing blonde that Santana and me are laughing at is my friend Lucas.

I knew his reaction would be great. He's so blond and hyper...you two could be twins. He came up to me bouncing on the balls of his feet like a child going, "So? What happened?"

So casual as anything I go, "Remission."

The kid dropped the drink tray he was holding and started yelling as loud as Santana. It was some kind of curse-laden bilingual prayer that no one could understand, but it made me laugh until I couldn't fucking breathe.

We were both hysterical. That was honestly one of the best days of my life.

The other picture I sent you is from earlier this week. Kurt's classes ended a little bit ago and we thought everyone needed a bit of a break. So I asked to borrow the private yacht..Father asked why my hairs so short. Kurt's making me tell them when we get back. And don't you even _think_ 'whipped', Sterling, because that is an argument you will not win.

(Oh, and I sent the girls to the beach house in Monteray..Brittany loves beaches. Santana loves the movie_ 'Sahara'_.)

We're somewhere near Belize and couldn't be happier. Not sure when we're coming back but its got to be in time for Lucas's wedding. Also, I've got to go back to the hospital. I'm not in the clear just yet. I'll call you, because I demand that you and Nick come see us now that you're back from Italy.

And look..I'm sorry I ignored your calls and e-mails and all that. I was being an asshole as per usual and I thought you two were actually going to leave Europe to see me. I refused to ruin your trip and give you the opportunity to take a picture of me bald.

Kurt says hi.

Sebastian

P.S. Stop sending Kurt wedding magazines, you nutsack. I'm eventually going to be the one to propose and anyway, I'm not picking out the ring without your scrawny ass here to help.

P.S.S. Tell Nick he's sexy for me..but I will always be sexier.

**A/N: Woof. **


End file.
